Call for Instructors: Give Back by Teaching a Photography Workshop
Every photographer has something they’ve learned the hard way.
Maybe it’s how to light portraits in a small space, build a smoother client workflow, pose families with confidence, price products, retouch efficiently, or turn a specialty into a stronger business. Whatever your area of expertise, there’s a good chance another photographer could benefit from learning it directly from you.
That’s what PPA Photo Workshops are all about: photographers helping photographers grow.
Applications are now opening for PPA’s Fall 2026 Photography Workshops, and PPA is looking for instructors who are ready to share their knowledge, connect with their local photography community, and help fellow photographers build confidence in their craft and business.
Why teach a PPA Photo Workshop?
PPA Photo Workshops are peer-to-peer educational events led by professional photographers across the country. For two weeks each spring and fall, studios and teaching spaces open their doors for hands-on classes covering topics like portrait and wedding photography, posing, lighting, digital retouching, workflow, sales, and marketing.
Teaching a workshop is a chance to give back, but it’s also a chance to grow. As previous PPA workshop instructors have shared, teaching can help you sharpen your own understanding of a subject, connect with other photographers, and see your specialty through fresh eyes.
And you don’t have to be a lifelong educator to have something valuable to offer. If you’ve developed a skill, system, workflow, or creative approach that has helped your photography business, that knowledge could make a real difference for someone else.
What makes a great workshop topic?
The best workshop topics are practical, focused, and rooted in real-world experience. Think about the questions photographers already ask you. What do you explain often? What did you wish someone had taught you earlier in your career?
Your class could cover a technical skill, a business process, a creative specialty, or a client experience strategy. PPA’s workshop program includes a wide range of educational needs, from posing and lighting to sales, marketing, retouching, and workflow.
A strong workshop doesn’t have to cover everything. It just needs to give attendees something useful they can take home and apply.
What instructors receive
PPA Photo Workshop instructors can earn 2 speaking merits per workshop taught, as long as the workshop has at least one registered attendee. Instructors may teach up to two workshops per PPA Workshop season.
Teaching also offers the opportunity to connect with photographers in your area, expand your professional network, and deepen your own knowledge of the subject you’re teaching. PPA’s instructor page also notes that workshop leaders may receive payment based on attendance, with payment eligibility requiring a PPA degree or certification.
Ready to share your knowledge?
Applications for Fall 2026 PPA Photography Workshops will be accepted May 29–July 17, 2026. Fall Workshops will take place September 1–16, 2026.
Whether you’re teaching for the first time or returning to lead another class, this is your opportunity to support your fellow photographers, strengthen the PPA community, and pay forward the lessons that have helped shape your career.